Carl Corley
Encyclopedia
Carl V. Corley is an author and illustrator. Beginning in the 1950s, he drew physique art for male beefcake
magazines and for sale as posters. In the 1960s and 1970s, he wrote twenty-two novels of gay pulp fiction
. From the 1970s into the early 1990s, Corley continued to write stories for gay pornography
magazines. Corley also has written and illustrated non-erotic projects, including Louisiana
history and religious books. Gay historian John Howard, who rediscovered Corley's gay pulp novels in the 1990s, argues that Corley's work "complicates queer cultural studies by unsettling its urbanist roots." Corley's texts are not typical stories of gay young men from rural areas finding their ways to sexual liberation in cities, but instead describe "many complex nodes of circulation, not just aggregation" (Howard 215).
, Mississippi
, in 1921, growing up there to graduate from Florence High School. During World War II
, Corley served in the South Pacific in the United States Marine Corps
. From 1947 to 1961, he lived in Jackson
, Mississippi
, and worked for the Mississippi State Highway Department as an illustrator and staff artist. From 1961 to 1981, he worked in a similar position for the Louisiana Highway Department. In both jobs, he designed and illustrated tourist guides, manuals, pamphlets, road maps, and traffic surveys. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he drew a comic strip dealing with Cajun
folklore for the Eunice (LA) News. He also wrote and illustrated a Louisiana state history for a small press.
The novels, in order of publication, are:
, Mississippi
, including his hometown of Florence, in the early 1900s (Howard 200). Many plots deal with young Southern farm boys discovering gay sex, sometimes crossing racial or class lines. Some novels involve urban plots in places such as Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Perhaps most autobiographical is A Chosen World (1966), whose narrator, Rex Polo, is born in Florence
, Mississippi
, in 1921, just as Corley was. In the novel, Rex discovers gay sex in high school in 1936 with a football player. Rex goes on, like Corley, to serve in the military in the Pacific during World War II
, and the novel details his sexual experiences, including a gang-rape by drunken soldiers. By the end of the novel, Rex is back in his hometown, becoming a physique artist, in love with his male model (Howard 200-201, 207-209). Howard comments on Corley's novels that compared to other gay pulp erotica, they "stood out as more sober, more earnest . . . . [T]itles . . . evoke literary aspirations." Howard suggests that they challenge distinctions of high-brow and low-brow writing (197).
era. His work illuminates popular cultural expression as well as gay experience and imagination in the rural South.
In 1998, Duke University
bought from Corley his papers, including typescripts and published copies of his novels, for their special collections in gay and lesbian studies.
Beefcake
Beefcake is a term denoting the use of nude or semi-nude male bodies. It can refer to a genre or a person. It often is used to denote male sexual attractiveness stemming from physical build but the definition has expanded to include anyone interested in physical fitness, bodybuilding and weight...
magazines and for sale as posters. In the 1960s and 1970s, he wrote twenty-two novels of gay pulp fiction
Gay pulp fiction
Gay pulp fiction, or gay pulps, refers to printed works, primarily fiction, that include references to male homosexuality, specifically male gay sex, and that are cheaply produced, typically in paperback books made of wood pulp paper; lesbian pulp fiction is similar work about women...
. From the 1970s into the early 1990s, Corley continued to write stories for gay pornography
Gay pornography
Gay pornography is the representation of sexual intercourse between men with the primary goal of sexual arousal in its audience. There is also a tradition, and continuing considerable output, of lesbian pornography....
magazines. Corley also has written and illustrated non-erotic projects, including Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
history and religious books. Gay historian John Howard, who rediscovered Corley's gay pulp novels in the 1990s, argues that Corley's work "complicates queer cultural studies by unsettling its urbanist roots." Corley's texts are not typical stories of gay young men from rural areas finding their ways to sexual liberation in cities, but instead describe "many complex nodes of circulation, not just aggregation" (Howard 215).
Biography
Carl Vernon Corley was born in FlorenceFlorence, Mississippi
Florence is a town in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,396. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Florence is located at ....
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, in 1921, growing up there to graduate from Florence High School. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Corley served in the South Pacific in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. From 1947 to 1961, he lived in Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and worked for the Mississippi State Highway Department as an illustrator and staff artist. From 1961 to 1981, he worked in a similar position for the Louisiana Highway Department. In both jobs, he designed and illustrated tourist guides, manuals, pamphlets, road maps, and traffic surveys. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he drew a comic strip dealing with Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
folklore for the Eunice (LA) News. He also wrote and illustrated a Louisiana state history for a small press.
Physique art
Carl Corley in the 1950s contributed homoerotic art to physique magazines, signing the work for publication with his own name. John Howard identified ten Carl Corley posters sold by Sir Prise Publishers of Chicago. He describes them as using master-slave imagery, but inverting the roles, where the darker-skinned figure dominates the lighter-skinned one (Howard 211). When Howard interviewed Corley in 1997, the older man told him, "One of my ambitions [was] to be the greatest male physique artist of all" (Howard 219).Pulp novels
When Corley moved to Louisiana in 1961, he spent more time writing. Between 1966 and 1971, Corley published twenty-two erotic novels for the French Line by P.E.C. (Publishers Export Company) of San Diego and the Pad Library of Agoura, California, publishers of erotic gay pulp novels. providing his own cover art, Corley also had the novels published under his own name, a usual act for most writers in the genre.The novels, in order of publication, are:
- A Chosen World (1966)
- My Purple Winter (1966)
- The Scarlet Lantern (1966)
- Star Light Star Bright (1967)
- A Fool's Advice (1967)
- Fallen Eagle (1967)
- Faces in Secret (1967)
- Brazen Image (1967)
- A Lover Mourned (1967)
- Sky Eyes (1967)
- Satin Chaps (1968)
- Attala Rose (1968)
- Jesse (1968)
- The Purple Ring (1968)
- The Different and the Damned (1968)
- Cast a Wistful Eye (1968)
- Black Angel (1968)
- Trick of the Trade (1968)
- Easy Ride (1970)
- The Hustling Place (1970)
- Swamp Angel (1971)
- Jail Mate (1971) (Howard 310)
Themes
Corley's work seems to have many autobiographical elements. His early novels are set in rural Rankin CountyRankin County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 115,327 people, 42,089 households, and 31,145 families residing in the county. The population density was 149 people per square mile . There were 45,070 housing units at an average density of 58 per square mile...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, including his hometown of Florence, in the early 1900s (Howard 200). Many plots deal with young Southern farm boys discovering gay sex, sometimes crossing racial or class lines. Some novels involve urban plots in places such as Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Perhaps most autobiographical is A Chosen World (1966), whose narrator, Rex Polo, is born in Florence
Florence, Mississippi
Florence is a town in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,396. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Florence is located at ....
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, in 1921, just as Corley was. In the novel, Rex discovers gay sex in high school in 1936 with a football player. Rex goes on, like Corley, to serve in the military in the Pacific during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the novel details his sexual experiences, including a gang-rape by drunken soldiers. By the end of the novel, Rex is back in his hometown, becoming a physique artist, in love with his male model (Howard 200-201, 207-209). Howard comments on Corley's novels that compared to other gay pulp erotica, they "stood out as more sober, more earnest . . . . [T]itles . . . evoke literary aspirations." Howard suggests that they challenge distinctions of high-brow and low-brow writing (197).
Importance
Carl Corley in his writing and illustrations provides a nearly unique example of out gay expression in a predominantly rural, Southern setting in the pre-StonewallStonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
era. His work illuminates popular cultural expression as well as gay experience and imagination in the rural South.
In 1998, Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
bought from Corley his papers, including typescripts and published copies of his novels, for their special collections in gay and lesbian studies.